Bill creates fund for horse racing money

Saturday

Mar 16, 2013 at 12:37 AM

BATON ROUGE — A local lawmaker has introduced a bill for the spring session that would give the Legislature more authority over the gaming proceeds that are dedicated to a group of associations serving horse-racing interests and other related activities.

Jeremy AlfordCapitol Correspondent

BATON ROUGE — A local lawmaker has introduced a bill for the spring session that would give the Legislature more authority over the gaming proceeds that are dedicated to a group of associations serving horse-racing interests and other related activities. Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Napoleonville, said his House Bill 100 would create the Horse Industry Economic Sustainability Fund to temporarily hold the gaming proceeds that are sent directly to three groups: n The Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, which serves as the financial house and bookkeeper for Louisiana’s major racetracks and provides benefits to horsemen. n The Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association, which conducts auctions, performs outreach and advocacy, and represents more than 1,500 horse owners and breeders.n The Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association, which shares a similar mission with the thoroughbred association and is the smallest of three.Harrison said his bill would force the associations to present a budget to the House Appropriations and Senate Finance committees and justify expenses. The percentage of gaming proceeds the associations receive each year and how the money can be used are not being altered under the proposed legislation, he said. “The money would have to go the treasury first and then into the new fund,” Harrison said. “And they would have to present a budget each year. They are getting millions annually and we need to make sure everything is in good order.”The money that is being paid directly to the associations by the state comes from horse racing, the resulting purses, offtrack wagering, slots at racetracks and video poker at offtrack betting facilities.By creating a fund to hold the money until it is appropriated, Harrison said a new layer of accountability is established. “They have never had this level of oversight,” he added. “It’s long overdue.”Harrison pointed to past controversies as his impetus for filing the legislation, like the federal investigation from roughly three years ago of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, which gets a cut of the purses at the major racetracks totaling about $5 million annually.The investigation uncovered wrongdoing ranging from financial irregularities like salary increases and business travel-turned-vacations to other findings such as a sexual harassment suit and luxury clothing expenses, among other charges.Stanley Seelig, Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association president, said those activities transpired under the group’s previous administration. “Those individuals did jail time and paid civil penalties,” he said, adding that a number of fiscal oversight measures have been adopted since then. “We even switched accounting firms.” The Legislature has also passed a law allowing the state auditor to access the association’s books. “We supported that,” Seelig said. The creation of a new fund to hold gaming proceeds is his biggest problem with the bill, Seelig said, because it creates an opportunity for the administration or future ones to sweep money from it when there are holes in the state budget. For next year’s budget, Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration is taking money from nearly 60 different dedicated funds to prop up health care and education as a $1.3 billion shortfall looms.“That could result in smaller purses and have an adverse affect on the industry,” Seelig said. The Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association, which had $12.2 million in revenues last fiscal year, according to a recent state audit, has not yet taken a stance on the legislation. “We are aware of the bill and at this time we are investigating it. We are still in discussions,” said Roger Heitzmann III, secretary-treasurer of the thoroughbred association.Leverne Perry, executive director of the Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association, couldn’t be reached Friday.